Cape Charles to request $875,000 in Port Authority Grants

Town Council approved for the Mayor to request from the Virginia Port Authority carryover of $227,000 of existing grants, as well as $428,750 of new grant funds.

While three of five planned off-shore breakwaters have been built on the shoal to the west of the harbor entrance, according to Town staff, “there is a considerable fetch from the breakwaters that allows some wave regeneration during periods of sustained wind. Additionally, there is still exposure to the prevailing southwest wind direction during the summer.”

Damage to vessels and infrastructure have purportedly occurred due to wind and wave action. The supposed roughness of the harbor, according to the Town, discourages boaters from utilizing the floating docks.

Council approved an application for a Boating Infrastructure Grant for a floating concrete wave attenuator system, and has amended the Langley & McDonald harbor engineering contract to prepare an updated wave study (for the three off-shore breakwaters). From staff report, “This study will evaluate the efficacy of alternative harbor protection options, principally breakwater #4, a new south entrance jetty, and a floating concrete wave attenuator. The conclusion of this study is still several months away.”

Town Manager Brent Manuel met with the Port Authority this week to discuss the Town’s needs, as well updating them on the future requests.

Moving forward, the Town will apply to the VPA for sufficient funding for breakwater #4 before completion of the study. The estimated cost is $875,000 (ALP $656,250, Town $$218,750). This breakwater is part of the currently approved Harbor Redevelopment Plan. The design of all five breakwaters has been done and they have been permitted by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Well, actually yes. A wave study was conducted before the floating docks were built. The result was the current planned configuration of 5 breakwaters on the shoal to the west of the harbor entrance. The recommendation was that 2 needed to be built before installation of the floating docks to provide reasonable protection. Three have now been built. They provide adequate protection except during certain conditions and extreme weather events. The 4th breakwater would be built to the south of the existing 3 to better protect against waves created by prevailing southwest summer winds. However, it would be in the deepest water depth on the shoal and therefore the most expensive breakwater to build. The new wave study, using newer state of the art modeling, will evaluate several alternatives so that a cost-benefit analysis can be conducted. This will allow the Town Council to make a better informed decision recognizing current conditions.